Jamie Oliver’s restaurants put up for sale by administrators

The twenty restaurants in Jamie Oliver’s restaurant chain have been put up for sale following collapse of the firm.

Earlier this week the business went into administration with the loss of a thousand jobs.

The restaurants are in key locations including King Street in Manchester and the Liverpool One shopping centre.

Both restaurants closed their doors earlier this week.

Will Wright and Mark Orton from KPMG’s restructuring practice have been appointed joint administrators to the Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group Ltd, and its subsidiaries Jamie’s Italian Ltd, Jamie’s Italian Holdings Ltd, One New Change Ltd and Fifteen Restaurant Ltd.

Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co has since been instructed to market the leasehold portfolio of the Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group.

The portfolio includes 20 leasehold sites, which previously traded as Jamie’s Italian, Barbecoa and Fifteen London.

Eight sites occupy strong trading positions throughout central and Greater London.

Twelve sites are situated in prime locations across the UK.

Jamie Harvie-Austin, director at Christie & Co, said: “Christie & Co is delighted to have been appointed by KPMG to assist in the disposal of these restaurants, as this provides a rare opportunity for restaurant operators to acquire extremely well-located premises in city centre locations.”

The sites are available on a group, sub-group or individual basis, and Christie & Co expects to receive strong interest over the next week.

Jamie Oliver said: “I am deeply saddened by this outcome and would like to thank all of the staff and our suppliers who have put their hearts and souls into this business for over a decade. I appreciate how difficult this is for everyone affected.

“I would also like to thank all the customers who have enjoyed and supported us over the last decade, it’s been a real pleasure serving you.

“We launched Jamie’s Italian in 2008 with the intention of positively disrupting mid-market dining in the UK high street, with great value and much higher quality ingredients, best in class animal welfare standards and an amazing team who shared my passion for great food and service. And we did exactly that.”